5 Ways Nonbelievers Can Say Grace Today

Courtesy of the American Humanist Association and their magazine The Humanist, five things atheists, nonbelievers and humanists can say for Thanksgiving grace last today follow ....

1) COMPASSION Corn and grain, meat and milk Upon our table width and length With loving thought and careful craft Through so many hands have passed Essence of life, fruits of our labors Bringing sustenance and strength To ours and all our neighbors May we all be grateful for all we have And compassion for those without.

2) BOUNTY From the freshly baked breads To delicious meats and treats This meal is the work Of many hands For all of us to share From the seeds in the field And animals in the barn To this table of family and friends Hard work has provided us A bounty of tender, loving care.

And now for a couple longer ones and a really short one...3) FELLOWSHIP I offer my deepest appreciation and my most profound apologies to the plants and animals whose lives were forfeit for our good health this day.

We give thanks to the ranchers and the farmers, their workers and their hands whose skill, sweat and toil have brought forth this bounty from the Earth.

We are grateful to the workers in the fields who pick our food, the workers in the plants where our food is processed, the teamsters who carry it to market and the stockers and the checkers who offer it up for our selection.

We are particularly appreciative for those at this table who have prepared this food with love and affection for our enjoyment and nourishment this day.

We remember fondly those who the miles and circumstance keep from joining us today as we remember those who are no longer with us and are grateful for the time we have shared with them.

We enjoy the warmth and fellowship that surrounds this gathering as we share the fervent hope That people the world over can share the good fortune, warm feeling and conviviality that embraces this gathering.

4) BOUNTIES As we come together at this special time, let us pause a moment to appreciate the opportunity for good company and to thank all those past and present whose efforts have made this event possible. We reap the fruits of our society, our country, and our civilization, and take joy in the bounties of nature on this happy occasion. Let us also wish that, some day, all people on Earth may enjoy the same good fortune that we share.

5) THANKS Thanks for the grub, Bub!*

*That last one DID NOT come courtesy of the American Humanist Association and their magazine The Humanist.

Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before "graduating" to OC Weekly in 1995 as the paper's first calendar editor. He has contributed as a freelance editor and writer to several publications and been the subject of or featured in several reports online, in print and on the radio and television. One of countless times he returned to his Costa Mesa, CA, home with a bounty of awards from a journalism competition, his wife told him to take out the trash.